


The Slytherin Prince...Or Is He?

by getmetohogwarts



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-01 00:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 14,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2753372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/getmetohogwarts/pseuds/getmetohogwarts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco Malfoy was the average Slytherin. He hated Blood Traitors and Mudbloods. He picked on the first years. He was destined to become a Death Eater when he turned seventeen. For him, life was easy. He got everything he wanted, and his life was already planned out. Or was it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Problems Start

It was Draco's third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Two years had passed- each worse then the last. He couldn't stand that Harry Potter kept getting the best of him. Not only that, but Harry and Ron kept getting Hermione into trouble. 

"Where the heck did that come from?" Draco wondered aloud. "Hermione's awful. She... She's a Mudblood. She's a know it all and teacher's pet." Draco stuttered. He couldn't remember the last time he had stuttered. Ever. It just wasn't in his nature. Draco shook his head back and forth like a wet dog in an attempt to think straight. 

"Draco honey! It's dinner time!" His mother Narcissa called from downstairs. 

"Coming mum!" Draco called back and started walking downstairs to the dining hall.

"I can't believe you're heading back to school tomorrow! This summer went by so fast..." Said Narcissa as Draco sat at the table.

"Yes, very fast." His mother didn't note the tone of sarcasm in his voice. The summer went by quite slowly for Draco. There wasn't much for him to do. He finished all of his homework within the first month, and there wasn't anyone to play Quidditch with. Both Crabbe and Goyle had been away on vacation. 

"You seem distracted Draco. What's the matter?"  
To be honest would mean to be grounded. So, he lied.  
"Oh, I'm just thinking about everything I need to pack."  
"Great. I'm glad you're thinking ahead." She leaned over and 'affectionately' pinched his cheeks. Once she let go, Draco rubbed the spot that she grabbed. It was sore.  
After that, dinner was an awkward silence. "Is father going to be too late?" Draco asked as he was finishing up. He was used to his father working late.  
"He'll be back by the time you wake up to go to King's Cross tomorrow. He'll be apparating with you. I have a hair appointment..."  
"Yes, of course Mother. Thank you for dinner." He couldn't actually thank the real chefs- House elves, of course. But it was still polite. He headed back up to his room and thought about why he would ever care if a Mudblood would be petrified.


	2. The Dementors

Draco and his father Apparated to Platform 9 3/4 the next morning. Draco said goodbye and got on board to find his friends Crabbe and Goyle. He found them near the back of the train in a compartment with Pansy Parkinson. For a second he wondered if he should get another compartment, but decided that he'd better at least try to be nice to the girl. 

"Hi Draco!" Pansy greeted in a sickly-sweet sort of way, batting her eyelids.  
"Hey," Crabbe and Goyle said together.  
"Hello. How was your summer?" Draco responded as he took the seat next to Pansy. She scooted a little closer to him.   
"Oh, it was okay I suppose. It would have been so much better if you were there though. I guess you didn't get my invitation to stay at my vacation house in the Canary Islands?"  
"You sent me an owl? Sorry, I didn't get it." Draco had gotten the letter, of course. Owls practically never mess up. But he'd rather stay cooped up in his room all summer then spend more time then was necessary with her. She was just obsessed with him, and not only was it a bit creepy, it was also super annoying.  
"Alright. Maybe next year..."

A few hours later, after they had all had their fill on different candies, they started to get tired and quiet. Then a sudden cold swept in on them. Pansy shivered and scooted even closer to Draco. He casually and carefully moved away so that it wasn't noticeable. The windows started to freeze. The train stopped. Everyone was silent. Then, they saw it. A dark, cloaked figure glided into their compartment. Draco couldn't remember anything happy. He thought of all the times he was slapped and abused by his father. The time when his parents were too busy for his birthday and Christmas in the same year. (He turned seven that year) The time when Slytherin lost the house to Gryffindor when everyone had thought they had already won. When he got detention and was grounded that summer for a whole month, unable to owl his friends... Did he deserve all of this? He must have. He was a terrible person, terrible, terrible, so sad... So cold... And then the Dementor went away. He looked around the compartment at his friends. They all just stared. "That was awful. Did anyone of you feel... Guilty? Depressed?"  
"No, I was just cold... Unhappy. Shivery. Not really guilty or depressed though..." Pansy said, shivering at the thought.  
"Same here." said Crabbe. Goyle nodded in agreement.   
"Weird." Draco added.


	3. In Love with a Mudblood

Draco and his gang strode into the hall and sat at the Slytherin table. Dumbledore went over the rules, blah blah blah, dementors, blah-Wait. "What did he say about dementors?" Draco whispered to Pansy who was listening, but looked bored out of her mind.  
"They're going to be staying at the school to watch for Sirius Black." She added a fake yawn. "Like he seriously would come here."  
"Ha, you're right." He used cockiness to mask his nervousness. The dementors had really freaked him out. If you haven't noticed. What if they could sense his father was a Death Eater? And that someday Draco would be too...?  
"What's wrong Dracy?" Asked Pansy, who noticed his worried expression.  
"Nothing." Draco said assertively so that she wouldn't ask again. Pansy look slightly hurt, but it got her to shut up. Draco turned his attention to the Gryffindor table. He saw Granger sitting next to Weasley and Potter eating their dinner. Draco felt a pang of jealously. "What the heck?" He thought to himself. "Get control of yourself Draco. So she's kind of pretty. And really smart. And brave. And stands up for herself and her friends. And funny. And..." The list went on and on. He couldn't help it. "Ugh!" Draco shouted, this time out loud.   
"What's up Draco?" Asked Goyle who was stuffing his face with cauldron cakes.  
"Just leave me alone right now. I'll talk to you later..."  
"Alright, but we're still going to taunt Potter about fainting, right?"  
"You guys go ahead. I'm not really...In the mood." Crabbe and Goyle looked shocked. They had never thought they would see the day when Draco Malfoy would pass up the perfect opportunity to make fun of Harry Potter. And Draco didn't either.


	4. Broken Arm

The next day Draco headed down with some other Slytherin third years to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. They were starting their 'Care of Magical Creatures' class. Taught by none other than the gamekeeper Hagrid. The man, obviously a half-breed, so looked over the grounds and lived in a wooden hut, just slightly bigger than Draco's bedroom.   
"I can't believe this oaf is going to be teaching us. Did you know he tried to keep a dragon? I almost caught him in my first year, but then Potter and...that fil-Granger girl helped it escape. I had to serves detention with them!" He couldn't bring himself to say his usual term for her. Not after he had been awake all last night thinking about her. It just didn't seem fair.  
"We'll be working with the hippogriffs today! Everyone open yer books to page twenty-three!"  
"And just HOW do we do that?"  
"Ye've got ter stroke 'em!" Hagrid said as if it was obvious. Draco undid the belt that was keeping his book from ripping up his robes and strokes the spine at arm's length. It seemed to fall asleep.They came upon a clearing with a couple of higgogriffs in them. They were very beautiful, there was a brown one, a gray one, a white one, and a red-brown. Hagrid led them to the first brown one. "This one here is Buckbeak. The first thing ye got ter know about hippogriffs is they're very proud creatures. Yeh got ter go up to 'em and bow, see? Wait for 'em to bow back before you go up ter pet 'em. Anyone wanna give this on a try?" Everyone stepped backwards. Harry hadn't move, making it look like he wanted a try. "Harry! Come on then." Harry bowed to the hippogriff and went up to pet him. "Great job, Harry! I reckon he'd let you ride 'im!" Harry's face was priceless- he was terrified. Draco couldn't blame him, of course. He would be terrified too. After Harry flew around, everyone clapped. Draco rolled his eyes.   
"I'm sure if Potter can do it, it's easy..." he whispered to Crabbe and Goyle.   
"You give it a go then," Goyle whispered back, daring Draco to try.  
"Fine. I will." He strode up to Hagrid and said "I'll try it then."   
"Great! Make sure 'n bow real low then..." Draco did, and Buckbeak bowed back. Draco walked up to it and started petting its feathers.   
"Well you're not dangerous at all, are you? You silly little-AAH! It's killed me! It's killed me!" Buckbeak had reared up and knocked Draco backwards, breaking his arm.  
"Class dismissed, all of you! Head ter yer next class. I'll take him up ter the hospital wing. Yer not dead, Draco. Madam Pomfrey will fix you right up."


	5. Inpatient

Madam Pomfrey had fixed Draco's arm in a total of like thirty seconds. But Draco didn't care. He wanted to stay in the hospital. He didn't want to go to class. He didn't want to face Hermione. He definitely didn't want to see Potter and Weasley with her.All Draco wanted to do was stay in the hospital room and think about what he was going to do with himself. Late at night, after Madam Pomfrey had gone to bed in the room next to the Hospital Wing, Draco thought out loud to himself.  
"Okay. So it's no use denying it- you like Grang-er-Hermione. You've been a jerk to her for two years. If anyone finds out you like her, your reputation will be ruined and you'll be grounded for life. Do I continue what I'm doing? Do I drop her subtle hints? Do I bribe the Slytherins not to tell? What if I tell her I like her and she thinks I'm joking? If she believes me and doesn't care? She probably hates me after all this time. Oh, if only things weren't so complicated! My parents, my life, girls... You know what? Here's what I'll do." He sorted out a plan in his mind. It would be easy enough to keep Crabbe and Goyle quiet- just give 'em some candy and they won't say a thing. Pansy is who he was worried about. If he could get her another date... Blaise! Of course... His plan was falling into place. He picked up a pen and a paper from the drawer of his bedside table.

"Dear Mother and Father,  
I was wondering if I was old enough to have a girlfriend. There's a girl that I'm kind of interested in... You know her pretty well, but I won't say names. I don't want to embarrass her. Send me back a reply soon! School is going well- I got hurt by a hippogriff yesterday, but I'm alright now. Not a big deal.  
Love you,  
Draco"

All of it was true. Not like he minded lying to his parents- but if they found out that he was being deceiving, he could always look back on this and tell them that there was written proof of their approval. Now all he needed to do was set up Pansy and Blaise. "Which," Draco thought, "Is going to be quite hard, seeing how she's so smitten with me."  
He felt like he was forgetting something. Something crucial to his plan... Of course.   
Hermione's approval.


	6. Study Date

The next morning he was okayed to leave by Madam Pomfrey, so he headed down to breakfast. Since he was going to try to get Hermione's positive attention, he figured he wouldn't want to pretend to keep his arm still broken like his original plan had been. She was too smart to fall for that- she knew that Madam Pomfrey could fix bones very quickly. Though it was too bad, because if his arm had still been 'broken' he would have been able to get other students to do his work for him. Oh well...  
He sat down at the Slytherin table, sitting as far away from Pansy as humanly possible. Then he realized that was counter-productive. He needed to find Blaise. In a few minutes, Draco saw him entering the Great Hall. Draco waved to him to catch his attention. He motioned for him to come over. Blaise did and sat down across the table from Draco.  
"What's up?" Blaise asked.  
"I was wondering... Remember in our first year when you said you liked Pansy?"  
"Yeah, but I kind of forced myself to get over her. Since she's so...obsessed. Why?"  
"Well, it's just that. She's obsessed. I need her off my back. SO, I was thinking if you two were to...Get together. Win-win, right?"  
"So you want me to start flirting with the girl who has liked you probably since the day she was born."  
"Exactly. Come on Blaise, will you do it? She's constantly around me. I can't stand it anymore."  
Blaise thought about it for a moment. "Deal." He stood up and walked over to where Pansy was sitting and started talking.  
"Great. I need to wait for them to start dating, and then I am free to talk to Granger. Er...Hermione."   
Later that day, the Slytherins and Gryffindors started double potions. Blaise whispered to him on the way down that it was going surprisingly well with Pansy. Draco didn't need to be told though- He didn't have her breathing down his neck at every moment. Draco told Blaise to keep him updated and to let him know when they were official.  
He motioned to Crabbe to pick a table near where Hermione was. (Closer then they generally were)  
"Hi there, Hermione." Of course, Draco said this rather sarcastically. He didn't want to make it TOO obvious he liked her.   
"Hello Draco..." She seemed distracted. She was reading the potions book. He looked over at it.  
"We're not set to be learning 'Swelling Solutions' for another six months!" Draco exclaimed, astonished.  
"I like to read ahead. As you may have noticed." Hermione rebuked.  
"Wow, you're pretty snarky today." Draco observed.  
"You're here."  
"True. But that's what I wanted to talk to you about actually..."  
"You? Wanted to talk to me? And why didn't you call me Granger? You always do that." Hermione finally looked up from her reading, intrigued and suspicious.  
"Because Hermione, I just...Want to get to know you better. For a few reasons."  
"Like what?"  
"Well, for one thing, I need a tutor. My charms grades were very low last year, and I don't think they'll get much better. And also... As ridiculous as this may sound, I need a friend." How did that slip out? Great way to be 'subtle', Draco he thought.  
"....Okay tutor I get. Friend, I don't. You've been taunting me for years. You're absolutely awful to Ron and Harry."  
"And I want to change that. Do you think you can help?"  
"Prove it. Prove you're not lying." Hermione was quick to respond.  
"Okay. Watch this." Draco poured an entire bottle of a very expensive potion ingredient into his cauldron. It exploded.  
"Who did that?" Professor Snape yelled. "I told you all not to put in more than a teaspoon of- Oh, Draco. Alright then. Carry on."  
"No, you slimy-haired git. I will not."  
"What did you say to me?"  
"You heard me." Draco responded.  
"I hate to do this to my own house, but... Five points from Slytherin. And detention, Malfoy. You can serve it with me tomorrow night."  
"Whatever, sir." Draco turned to Hermione. "That good enough for you?" he whispered.  
Hermione was very surprised. She blushed. "I think so. Meet me at the library this Saturday? One o'clock. We can study there."  
"I'll be there." He smirked and turned back to his work.


	7. Lies

Hermione's P.O.V.

Later that night, in the Gryffindor Common room...

"Hey guys?" she asked.  
"Yeah?" Harry asked.  
"So... If Malfoy asked me, hypothetically speaking of course, to help him with his Charms homework this weekend... What would you do if I said yes?"  
"Prob'ly take you to the hospital wing." Ron answered. "Why?"  
"Oh, no reason... It's just... He might have asked me. And I might have felt kind of bad for him. And I might have said yes."  
"Hermione!" Harry and Ron shouted simultaneously.  
"I'm sorry! It's just... He sounded really genuine, you know? And you know when he screwed up in potions? He did it on purpose to prove that he wasn't being a jerk... He said he wants a tutor. And a...um..."  
"And a what?" Harry prompted.  
"Nothing." Hermione whispered.

Draco's P.O.V.

Draco didn't bother to stop and chat in the common room that night. He went straight up to his dormitory and started flipping through his Charms books to study. For his study date. "It seems weird when you put it that way..." Draco said to himself.   
"You alright Draco?" Goyle came into the dormitory and sat at the edge of Draco's bed.  
"Oh, um... Bit of a stomachache,"   
"Ah. Sorry 'bout that. Pansy's going crazy down there." Goyle put on a fake, squeaky voice. "I haven't seen my Dracy all day!" Draco and Goyle laughed.   
"Okay. Well let her know I'm alright I guess. I have to read up on my cheering charms." Draco said nonchalantly.  
"Righty then." Goyle headed back down the stairs.  
"It really is a good thing I'm so practiced in lying..." Draco said and returned back to his reading.


	8. Preparation

Draco's P.O.V.

Saturday morning, Draco woke up much earlier than he normally wood. Yeah, he didn't need to be at the library until 1:00, but he needed to make sure he didn't sleep in. Plus, a little extra studying wouldn't hurt... And so, his alarm was set for 7:00. He woke up and quietly tiptoed over to the bathroom to put on his robes and smarten his hair.  
"Why're you up so early...?" Blaise yawned from behind him.  
"Blaise! Um... I'm heading to the Great Hall. Woke up starving."  
"I totally understand. I'll go with you. I could really go for some toast."  
"Sounds great." Shoot, Draco thought. What if Blaise wants to do something afterwards? He'd just have to shake him off somehow...  
In about an hour, both boys were in the Great Hall with a handful of other students. Pansy was luckily nowhere to be seen. As soon as he sat down, Draco's eagle-owl swooped down and dropped a letter in his lap.  
"Dear Draco,  
Of course! I'm glad you're finally warming up to her. (They obviously think I'm talking about Pansy, Draco thought. Perfect) Are you sure the hippogriff situation is okay? I heard that oaf Hagrid is teaching. I'd be more than happy to get him sacked. Keep up your grades please. We don't want that silly Mudblood girl beating you in your tests again this year.  
-Mom and Dad  
P.S. I'll be sending you some treacle tarts with my next letter"  
Draco smiled to himself. Could his plan be working more perfectly?  
"Watcha' smilin' at?" Blaise asked.  
"Oh, my mom is going to be sending me some treats soon."  
"Cool,"  
They finished up their breakfast. "Wanna go down to the lake with me?" Blaise asked.  
"Actually, I was thinking I'd head back to the dormitories and study a bit. I'm a little confused on cheering charms still,"  
"Great! I'll go with you! We can study together!"  
"Oh, sure. Great..."  
And so, they both headed back down to the dungeons.

Hermione's P.O.V.

It was 8:00, and Hermione was just waking up. "I guess I should get ready to tutor Draco..." she said to no one in particular, and promptly discovered how warm her covers were and fell asleep again. About an hour later (9:00) she woke up again and forced herself to get up. She brushed her hair (Why is it always so bushy? she asked) and put her Gryffindor robes on and headed down to the common room.  
"Hi Harry, Ron," Hermione greeted, sitting down next to them on the couch.  
"Hello. Going to the library I assume?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione's bulging book bag.  
"In a bit. I have lots of homework to do."  
"And you're still not going to tell us how you're getting to all of your classes?" Harry asked.  
"Nope."   
"Fair enough."  
At 12:00, Hermione went to lunch. (Harry and Ron had had a late breakfast earlier and weren't hungry) She sat down next to Ginny and Parvarti Patil. "How's it going, Hermione?" Ginny asked.  
"Alright," she lied. She was actually feeling quite sick to her stomach because she couldn't stop thinking about her study date. "How're you?"   
"I'm fine. Hey, Professor Lupin told my class about the 'Bat Bogey Hex'. He says it's pretty advanced, but I really want to learn it. Have you done that yet? I was thinking you could help me."  
"Oh, yeah. That's a pretty good hex. I could show you. How about at 3:00? I'll meet you by the Black Lake, kay?" Another tutoring job. 'I should be getting paid for this...' Hermione thought.  
"Sounds great!"  
Hermione finished pretty quickly, since she hardly hate anything, and rushed back up the stairs to the library. She saw Draco sitting at a table. He smiled and waved.  
"Hi Draco. You sure you want to do this? Any of your Slytherin buddies could walk in her at any minute,"  
"You don't know my friends very well, do you? They would never come ten feet from the library." (Also, I threatened to curse them if they did...)  
"Alright. So which part of Charms do you need help with?"  
"Just...Everything. I'm particularly confused by Cheering Charms, and I honestly never got my levitation charm fully functional."  
"Oh! Levitation! I love that charm. We can start with that."


	9. The Failure

"Admit it. I'm a failure." Draco said after an hour and half just working on his levitation charm.  
"No, you're not a failure! Everyone has spells they're not as good at as others. Besides, you're really good at potions!" Hermione encouraged.  
"Yeah? What's the spell you're not as good at then?" Hermione opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. "That's what I thought. You're good at everything..."  
"Actually, I'm doing pretty terrible in Divination right now. That class is a load of rubbish."  
"Wait, divination? Isn't that the same time as arithmancy?"  
"Yes."  
"But you're in my arithmancy-"  
"It doesn't matter, okay?"  
"No- Now you have to tell me."  
"Tell me what?"  
"How you're getting to all of your classes."  
"I don't think so."  
"I know so."  
"Are you ticklish?"  
"Wait- what?" Hermione wasn't expecting that.  
"I said- Are you ticklish?" Draco repeated.  
"...No..." Draco leaned over and starting tickling Hermione.   
"Tell me! You need to tell me!" Hermione giggled loudly.  
"Would you please be quiet? This is a library!" Madam Pince shouted at them.  
"Well you're not being very quiet either," Draco retorted.  
"Leave. Now." Madam Pince ordered.  
Draco packed up his books looking dejected. Hermione packed up her things too.  
"What- you're coming with me?" Draco asked.  
"Of course. You still haven't got the levitation charm down. Let's go down to the Black Lake."  
"Great! I mean, er..." Draco could feel his face getting warm.  
"Are you blushing? Draco Malfoy- blushing?"  
"It's been known to happen. Occasionally..."  
"No, it hasn't."  
"Okay, fine. Whatever. Let's just get this done and over with."  
"That's not a good way to treat a friend, Mr. Malfoy." Hermione said.  
So she did remember what he had said during potions. Awesome. "What do you mean?"  
"You specifically said you needed a tutor and a friend. I was hoping you would explain what you meant." Hermione said, stopping in her tracks. They were nearly to the Black Lake now.  
"Well, I... Don't know."  
"You're lying."  
"Am not."  
"Are to."  
"Am not. Okay. Fine. I am. It's just..." (Ugh, what do I say? I can't just tell her- that would be stupid! Or maybe I could. No, she probably still hates me. She called me her friend though! What if she was being sarcastic?)  
"Draco? Draaacooo...." Hermione waved her hand in front of his face.  
"What? Sorry..."  
"What has gotten into you?"  
"I really like you. A lot. I realized this summer and I want to get to know you and I made this really complicated plan to get you to like me and I was hoping that you'd go out with me." Draco slapped his mouth. It was too late.   
Hermione didn't say anything. She just stared.  
"I-I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me... I'll just go..." He turned back up to the castle and started to walk away.  
"Draco, wait!"  
He didn't stop walking. Hermione ran to catch up with him. "What?"   
"I was thinking, and... Well, I'm not sure I'm ready to be your girlfriend yet. But... I definitely wouldn't mind being friends. You know, at least for now."  
"Really?" Draco looked up and smiled.  
"Really."  
"Great."


	10. Bumping Into Potter

About a month had passed since Draco and Hermione's study session. They had talked some during classes, but hadn't had a chance to meet up again. Not only was Hermione constantly busy with her extra classes, she was always around Potter and Weasel...

"No. Don't call them that. Hermione doesn't like it." Draco thought to himself for probably the hundredth time. One great, amazing, wonderful thing had come of this situation though- Pansy and Blaise were official. Draco had literally jumped for joy when Blaise told him.

(Flashback...)  
"Draco! Draco!" Blaise called to Draco who was studying in the dormitories.  
"What's up?" Draco had asked.  
"Pansy! She's my girlfriend now! We're going to go down to the Black Lake for our first date this weekend!"  
"No way! High-five!" They jumped up in the air and came down slapping each other's hands. "Congratulations, Blaise. I hope you two are very, very, very, happy together."  
"We are." Blaise fell onto his bed grinning stupidly, and started humming a tune to himself.  
(Back to present day)

Draco was heading up to the astronomy tower at 10:00pm- they were going to be studying a lunar eclipse that was happening-when he bumped into someone on the stairs, causing him to drop all of his books.   
"Hey, watch it!" he exclaimed.  
"So sorry, Malfoy." It was Pot...er...Harry.  
"Oh, no. I'm sorry Harry. I didn't realize... Sorry. I was distracted." (Did I just apologize to Scarhead?)  
"It's fine-wait-What?" Harry stuttered.  
"I said I'm sorry. Don't expect me to say it again." He smiled at him and continued his way up the stairs.  
Harry and Ron stared at each other. "What the bloody hell is up with him?" Ron asked.  
"I don't know... Well...You don't think... Hermione?"  
"Nah. She could never get Malfoy. Though... She didn't want to tell us what happened when they studied... Guess it couldn't hurt to ask, could it?"  
"'Suppose not."


	11. Draco Stands Up

Hermione's P.O.V.

Hermione was heading down to Care of Magical Creatures with Harry and Ron.   
"Oh, Hermione. I forgot to ask you something!" Ron said suddenly.   
"What?" Hermione asked.  
"Well..." Ron glanced at Harry, not sure where to start.  
"It's just-"  
"We ran into Malfoy the other day-"  
"And he actually apologized for running into us-"  
"And then he smiled at us." They looked at Hermione expectantly, awaiting her response.  
"That wasn't a question." She replied simply.  
"I swear 'Mione... You're always so literal," Ron complained.  
"Our question is- Why is Malfoy suddenly being nice?" Harry asked impatiently.  
"Well... I think he's pretty happy that I'm tutoring him and all," Hermione lied. She didn't like to do it, but she kind of had to. There was no way Harry and Ron would think Draco was being genuine in his friendship... "Don't forget crush," Hermione added to her thoughts, just barely audible so that no one could hear. She wasn't even sure about that part- it seemed a little much, and yet...  
Hermione was so immersed in her own thoughts that she didn't watch where she was going. She ran right into Pansy Parkinson's back.  
"Sorry!" Hermione apologized.  
"Ew! The Mudblood touched me!" Pansy shrieked, higher than the human voice should rightfully go.  
Ron started to pull out his wand, but Malfoy got there first. "Don't say that to her!" Draco stormed.  
Harry and Ron stared. Malfoy had called Hermione a Mudblood probably hundreds of times before. Why was he defending her now?  
"What?" Pansy asked, looking equally as shocked.  
"I said- Don't call Hermione a you-know-what," Draco commanded through barred teeth.  
"I'll do what I want, thank you very much," Pansy retorted, as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and stalked away to talk to some of her Slytherin friends.   
"Thank you, Draco," Hermione said, smiling at the ground.   
"It's not a problem. Sorry about Pansy... She's a bit of a handful." Draco smiled and continued heading down to Hagrid's hut.


	12. So Close

Draco's P.O.V.

Draco walked away from Hermione, feeling good. He knew he had just earned some bonus points in Hermione's opinion. Also- he just felt good about himself. There was a happy feeling that he hadn't felt before. "I suppose that's what happens when you're nice to people..." Draco liked it. Still, he had to be careful. There's no way Pansy would forget about this- if something happened again, his parents would know. They always found out.  
"What was that about, Draco?" Crabb asked.   
"Well, the only reason why Granger agreed to tutor me was if I promised to be nice and protect her from Pansy," Draco had this answer rehearsed.  
"Ha. Bet she's scared of her." Goyle chimed in.  
"Crabbe, she's the best in our year. Probably the next year too. She's not scared, just irritated." Idiot.  
"Right, right." he nodded, though he didn't seem to understand completely... Probably too distracted thinking about lunch.

They had their class (the stupid flobberworms again), and afterwards when they were eating their lunch, Hermione came up to him at the Slytherin table.  
"Can I talk to you?" she asked him quietly.  
"'Course!" Then he remembered where he was. "But, in a minute, okay?"  
"Okay." she smiled and started back to the Gryffindor table and sat between Harry and Ron. Draco never thought he could be this jealous over a girl. About five minutes later he left, telling his friends that he needed to use the restroom.   
"What's up?" Draco asked Hermione outside the Great Hall.  
"The ceiling. But that's besides the point." she replied.  
"Very funny." Draco smiled. "Then what is the point?"  
"I wanted to thank you... For earlier. But honestly- I can take care of myself. Though, I think you are learning how to have a true friend." She paused. It sounded like she had rehearsed this speech at least a few times.  
"Well, thanks, I guess." Draco tried to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal, but he was beaming.  
"You're blushing again." And that too.  
"That seems to happen when you're around." Draco leaned in a little. Then he remembered that they weren't dating yet- he couldn't kiss those beautiful pink lips. Hermione would probably be offended. He straightened himself. He had been so close...  
"Yes, well... I was wondering if you'd like to have another tutor session this evening? We never got around to practicing by the Black Lake. I was thinking we could meet there."  
"Yes! Great. I'd love to. See you there."  
"See you." She turned and went to her next class, taking something shiny and round out of her book bag.

Hermione's P.O.V.  
She reached into her book bag to pull out her Time Turner. She was late for her next class, and while she wasn't technically supposed to use it for that purpose, it wouldn't hurt to wind it back a couple of minutes. Nobody would know. Besides, she needed some time to think about Draco.  
"He tried to kiss me... He tried to kiss me! Draco Malfoy has a crush on me! A real, genuine, crush!"


	13. The Eavesdroppers

"So I was thinking we could start working on something else today," Hermione said as Draco reached the edge of the lake.  
"What did you have in mind?" Draco asked.  
"How are you on cheering charms?"  
"Oh Merlin..."   
"Not very good then?" Hermione deferred.  
"Nope."  
"Good. Because I missed my lesson and I need to work on it too. We can practice together."  
"Alright. Why did you miss your lesson?" Draco asked. That wasn't like her.  
"It's...Complicated..." Hermione assumed a fake-official voice. "Now class, if you could please turn to Chapter 6 on page 47..."  
"Yes, professor!" Draco saluted. They both started in a giggling fit.  
"It's like you've already done the charm- too much!" Hermione exclaimed in-between laughs. (The effects of a too powerful cheering charm will cause a laughing fit)  
"Nah, I can never get it to work at all!" Draco replied. The laughing died down.  
"Well, we better get started then."

They continued their lesson. Little did they know that multiple parties were watching them from afar.  
"What is she doing with him?" Pansy asked Blaise, who had been out on an afternoon stroll around the grounds together.  
"Tutoring." Blaise replied, not wanting to bring Pansy's old crush back into the equation.  
"Doesn't look like it to me..."  
And, from the Gryffindor common room...  
"What does she think she's doing with MALFOY?" Ron shouted.  
"Tutoring him?" Harry offered up.  
"She's not tutoring they're laughing about something! Does he seriously think she has a chance with 'Mione? She should be mine!" Ron continued in an angry rage.  
"Sorry, mate." Harry said. He wasn't very good with relationships.   
"I'm going to go talk to her! Give her a piece of my mind..."  
"You might want to calm down a bit first... She probably won't appreciate you yelling at her." Harry knew this for sure. While Harry was normally oblivious to many things involving, well...girls, he had noticed how odd Hermione had been acting lately. She would smile to herself at random times, and snapped at Ron and Harry when they started to complain about Malfoy.  
"You're probably right... Thanks..."


	14. Slimy Prat

Hermione's P.O.V.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ronald!"  
"You know perfectly well. Hangin' around with Malfoy all the time. 'Tutoring' him! I saw you out at the Black Lake having a laugh! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had a crush on that slimy prat!"  
"I do not have a crush on him!"  
"Yeah?"  
"Yeah." Hermione paused.   
"And you know what? Even if I did, why should you care? It's my personal life, so get out of it!"  
"Hermione- I only care because you're my friend, and he's no good for you!"  
"Oh, no good for me, is he? You're not thinking about me, you're only thinking about yourself!" And, with tears in her eyes, Hermione ran up to the girl's dormitory.

Draco's P.O.V.

The "Slimy Prat" as Ron would say, had a Quidditch practice right after his tutoring session. So once he packed up his books, smiled, and waved goodbye to Hermione, he went down to the Quiddich pitch.  
"Alright everyone! Mount your brooms! We're just going to play out a fake game today, to get ready for our game against Gryffindor." called the Slytherin Captain.   
Draco and the rest of his team hopped on to their Nimbus 2001s, and they were in the air. He flew high above everyone else, trying to find a flicker of gold somewhere below him. In about five minutes of circling the field, he found himself quite bored. His thoughts drifted off to more interesting places.  
"I really like Hermione," he thought. "She's so fun, and smart, and helpful. I can't wait until she decides to like me back." A smaller voice in the back of his head whispered "If she ever does". Draco shook this thought out of his mind- He could convince her eventually. If he hadn't already. He was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't hear the rest of the team yelling at him.  
"Draco! The Snitch was right behind you!"   
"Why didn't you catch it?"   
"Come on! If you're this bad next week we'll have to sack you!" The fact that he did awful was the general consensus.   
"Sorry, sorry! I got distracted. Let's play another round- I'll get it this time in the first five minutes, guaranteed," Draco bet. He should have bet all his gold galleons on it, because he would have doubled his money. Caught it within three minutes- record time.   
"Alright, guess we'll keep you," teased the Captain.  
"You better, or I'm taking my brooms with me!" Draco laughed, not entirely kidding.


	15. Sorry

Draco's P.O.V.

"Did you hear?"  
"Sirius Black! Here! In the castle!"  
"What?"  
"Ron Weasley saw him! With a knife!"  
"No way!"  
"Yeah! I couldn't believe it either!"  
Murmurings of Ronald Weasley's adventures with the 'mass murderer' were everywhere. Draco knew all about this phony, his father being a Death Eater. Never did Sirius Black show up at one of Voldemort's meeting, Pettigrew had obviously committed suicide out of fear. However, he didn't tell anyone this- they'd like to know how he knew. And as obnoxious (or neglectful) his father could be, he didn't want him getting locked up in Azkaban. Still, Draco couldn't help but laugh about some of the theories about how Black got in the castle.  
"I bet he disguised himself as a flowering shrub!" was the wildest theory Draco heard, made by a Hufflepuff girl, Hannah Abbott. Draco had to try his hardest not to burst out laughing at this- However Black got in the castle, it wasn't that.  
Hermione and Draco met at lunch the day after Black's appearance. Of course, Draco couldn't just sit at the Gryffindor table, and Hermione couldn't just sit at the Slytherin table. They sat in neutral territory. The Ravenclaws had a separate lunch period on Tuesdays, so they sat there.  
Draco felt a bit awkward about the whole situation, because Scarhead-er. Potter-er. Harry! There we go. Harry and Ron were sitting at the Gryffindor table just a few feet away, staring at Draco as if daring him to do something he wasn't supposed to. Hermione was oblivious to this though, because her back was to them. He tried to ignore them, but in the back of the mind was a nagging thought "What if I screw up big time with Hermione and they're here to watch it all happen?"  
"So..." Hermione started, in need of a conversation topic. "Did you hear that Black was in the castle?"  
"Yeah! Too bad he didn't sneak up on me last night! It would have been a short trip," Draco smiled.  
"Mhm. And how would you, a third-year boy, manage to capture the infamous Sirius Black?"   
"Hm... I'd probably stun him. Or perhaps a full body bind curse would do the trick!"  
"Oh really? You just happen to have a wand tucked under your pillow do you?" Hermione retorted, trying unsuccessfully to hold back her giggles.  
"It's not your business what I sleep with!" The truthful answer was 'no', but he did keep it on his bedside table.  
"Oooh. So yes? Or do you have a little teddy bear?" Hermione taunted.  
"I haven't had a doll since I was six-years-old!"   
"Mhm."  
"Well, what about you? Do you have any dollies?"  
"No! Well, unless you count books..." Hermione trailed off.  
"Come again?" Draco asked, confused.  
"Well, I study before I go to bed, and sometimes I fall asleep still reading them. When I wake up they're usually on the ground."  
"Ha, alright. So if I'm ever looking for your dorm, just look for the one with all the books on the ground."  
"I pick them up! Most the time. Besides, why would you need to find my dorm anyway?"   
"Well... To visit you," Draco said, nearly at a whisper.  
"What was that?"  
"To visit you. To see you." He said a little louder.  
"Oh, well you're not allowed in the common room anyway, so..." Hermione started awkwardly.  
"That didn't stop Harry and Ron from going to the Slytherin common room last year," Draco said.  
"What?!" Hermione spit out her pumpkin juice. "How did you know?"  
"I'm not stupid. Crabbe doesn't wear glasses. Goyle's hair doesn't turn randomly red. They don't tell the Ministry where my dad is keeping his...stuff locked up."  
Hermione was silent. "Draco...I'm sorry...It's just-"  
"I know. You thought I was the Heir of Slytherin. I should take that as a compliment, I suppose. It's just... I wish I could change that. I wish I had never been so mean to you three. I see that now. I'm the one who should be sorry." Without saying another word, Draco got up and left the table and half of his lunch. He didn't want Hermione to see him cry.


	16. It's a Date

Hermione's P.O.V.

It came out of nowhere, and before she knew it, Draco was running out of the Great Hall, tears welling up in his eyes. Did I do this? Hermione felt awful. It was her plan, after all, to make the polyjuice potion. But they had been so sure it was Draco, they just needed to make sure! Yeah they were wrong, but... Actually, no matter how Hermione tried to make an acceptable excuse in her brain, none of them seemed to compensate. Draco was actually really sweet. Of course, he hadn't been before, so it really was his fault. But still!  
"What did you do to him?" Ron asked. He and Harry rushed over to Hermione after Draco had left.  
"Nothing! I mean, um..." Hermione blushed. She didn't think that Harry or Ron would feel particularly sorry about accusing Draco last year for something he didn't do. "He's...Tired. Decided to go back to his common room."  
"And being tired was really depressing for him?" Harry asked sarcastically.  
"It's nothing! Just leave me alone, please." Hermione asked, trying to contain her anger. It's only natural for them to be curious, of course, but she wasn't a good liar and certainly wasn't about to tell them the truth. They would never let Draco live it down.  
Later that afternoon, Hermione went to her arithmancy class. Draco was there, to her surprise. His face was a little red still, but he seemed better. She was about to go talk to them when Professor Vector told the class to sit down. She tried to send him an encouraging smile, but he didn't seem to notice. His attention was solely on Vector and her instruction for tonight's homework. Ugh. More homework. What's that? My fourth paper that I need to write tonight, and this is only my fourth class? Maybe this time turner wasn't such a great idea. Though I am learning way more than I would have normally.  
"Ms. Granger?"  
"Yes?"  
"I asked you who discovered the magical properties of the number seven."  
"That would be Bridget Wenlock, Professor," Hermione replied without hesitation.   
"Very good. Class is dismissed everyone. A foot on number seven and it's various properties due on Friday!" There was a scuffing of chairs against the floor as people started to leave the class.   
"Draco!" Hermione called. She was sure he heard her. He didn't respond. "Draco Malfoy! Come here right now!" There was no way he could ignore that.  
He walked over, his head hanging. "Sorry."  
"What?"  
He looked up. "I said I'm sorry. For being mean to you. Before."  
Hermione paused, feeling a bit awkward. "It's okay. I'm sure you didn't mean it."  
"That's the thing. I did mean it...But I don't anymore," Draco added hurriedly.  
"I know, and I accept your apology. There's no need to feel sorry anymore," Hermione replied.   
"Thank you, Hermione. I really appreciate it." He smiled.   
"No problem. Well, while I have you here... I've been thinking. Would you like to go to Hogsmeade this weekend with me?"  
Draco's mood lightened considerably. "You mean, together? As a..." He trailed off. He couldn't face her rejection.  
"It's a date. Meet you at the Three Broomsticks."  
"Great! But um... Will Harry and Ron..."   
"Harry's not allowed to go. Didn't get his slip signed. And Ron and I aren't currently on best terms."  
"Sorry to hear that..." Draco said apologetically, though Hermione could have sworn a small smile flickered across his face.  
"Not a big deal. He'll get over it eventually."


	17. Snowball Fight

Draco's P.O.V.  
"There's so much to see! I've never been to an all-wizarding town before!" Hermione looked at a map of Hogsmeade as she headed down the line of excited students with Draco. He remembered with a pang of guilt how much his parents would hate him right now if he knew that he was on a date with a muggle-born.  
"It's neat. I've been here before. I can show you around." He gently took the map from her, folded it, and handed it back.   
"Alright then. You're the tour guide, so where should we go first?" Hermione smiled at him.  
"It depends... Do you want to stock up on candy, jokes, see some owls, the haunted house, grab some butterbeer, tea..." He realized he was kind of droning on, so he stopped.  
"Butterbeer?"  
"It's a drink. We could get some at the Three Broomsticks, warm ourselves up." It was currently snowing, after all.  
"Alright then!" They headed towards the old building with three broomsticks in the shape of a triangle hanging up above the door. Draco held open the door.  
"M'lady," he said, laughing.  
"Why, thank you my good sir!" Hermione laughed in return. She walked in and grabbed a table for two. They both sat down and Madam Rosmerta came to take their orders.   
"What will it be?" she asked.   
"Two butterbeers," Draco answered.   
"Coming right up," she wrote down their order and returned to the bar.   
"This place is nice," Hermione said, looking around.  
"I guess," Draco said, mainly to be polite. It wasn't really his style, he was more used to his manor style. Though he had to agree, the Three Broomsticks did seem more 'homey'.   
Rosmerta brought over their drinks, and after five minutes of arguing, Draco finally won the argument and paid for both of them. "You've got a real gentleman there, hon," Rosmerta commented to Hermione as she counted up the sickles. Hermione blushed a deep red.  
"Yeah, I guess I do," she smiled at her butterbeer, too nervous to look up at his expression. However, she had a feeling that he was smiling, and she was right. Eventually she was able to look up again, and they started chatting about nothing in particular. Schoolwork, classes. They finished up and started to leave.   
"You have a little something, there," Draco wiped some of the butterbeer froth off of Hermione's lip.   
"Oh, thanks," She looked down again. "Oh no."   
"What's wrong?" Draco asked. Had he done something wrong?  
"Look," she pointed towards the ground. Footprints were running towards where the Shrieking Shack was, but there was no body to go along with the footprints. How....?   
"Draco, I'm sorry, I have to go. Stay here. I'll be right back, I promise!" She started sprinting away, but Draco was not going to be staying still. He ran after her, going slow enough to stay a good distance behind her, but fast enough so that she was always in her sight. She stopped near the outlook for the Shrieking Shack. Draco supposed whoever she was following also stopped here. He hid behind a tree, out of Hermione's sight.  
"Harry, what's wrong?" He heard her say. Potter was here... Of course. He just had to ruin his first date with Hermione.  
"Sirius Black...He was their friend! He was their friend, and he betrayed them..." Draco was paralyzed with indecision. What should he do? He could tell Harry, but then his father's secret would be out. Hermione would knew he had followed her. But she would like that Draco was trying to help, right?  
"Harry!"  
"Malfoy!" Harry turned to Hermione. "What is he doing here?"  
"I...um... It doesn't matter," Hermione stuttered. Draco's face fell. It didn't matter? Hadn't she just said only a few minutes ago that he was a 'real gentleman'? "Oh, no! I didn't mean it like that! It's just...Wow, I made this really awkward."  
"It's fine. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you, that Sirius Black didn't betray your parents. He wasn't a Death Eater."   
Harry was confused. Draco could tell. "How do you know that? Who did betray them?"  
Draco decided to skip the first question. "A man. Named Peter Pettigrew."  
"You're lying. Sirius killed Peter!"  
"No. Peter killed himself. Trust me on this, okay? I wouldn't lie to you."  
Harry and Hermione were silent. Draco looked back and forth between the two, wary of their reactions. It was an unbearable quiet, and then... "I believe you, Draco," they decided simultaneously.  
"You do?" Draco grinned.   
"Of course. You're a changed man," Hermione smiled back. She turned back to Harry. "Harry, you really should be getting back to the castle, you're bound to be-" He was already gone under his cloak.   
"Well, I guess we can get back to our date," Draco held out his arm, and Hermione grabbed on. "Hey!" A snowball hit the back of his head. He let go of Hermione and bent down to pick up some snow and rolled it up. "I know you're there somewhere! And I'm going to find you!" Eventually Draco was able to find him, and the three of them had the most ultimate snowball fight of the century.


	18. Fiery Passion

Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger could now be seen practically everywhere together. There was still of course, the gossip flying all around them.  
"How could she get the prince of Slytherin house?"   
"Well, wouldn't that make her the Gryffindor princess?"  
"England isn't even a monarchy anymore! What are you guys talking about?"  
"Does it matter? They seem happy together," (A/N: Seriously, try and figure out what house would say what)

Hermione's P.O.V.  
Hermione was in now way oblivious to all the gossip. She didn't mind though. It was kind of nice hearing all of those girls who had once made fun of her for being a 'nerd' be so jealous of her. Even if that was a little mean.   
"How are you today, Draco?" she asked as she met him in the Great Hall.  
"I'm doing great. How are you, love?" He responded. Hermione beamed- she loved her new nickname.   
"Fantastic," Hermione answered, entirely truthfully. She thought "Well, you're here, aren't you?"   
Draco grabbed her right hand in his left and headed towards the Gryffindor table for breakfast.   
"Malfoy," Harry greeted. They had also become friends after the awesome snow fight.  
"Scarhead," Some habits died hard, Hermione supposed. A second after they sat down, Ron abruptly stood up and walked down to the far end of the table.  
"What's his problem?" Draco asked.  
"You," Harry answered immediately. "He still thinks that you're a git." He leaned in a little closer and whispered, "He's also not thrilled that you stole Hermione from him before he got a chance too."  
"Oh...Yeah. I guess that's reasonable," Draco said.  
"Well, maybe one of these days he'll mature and get over it," Hermione hoped, wanting a change of subject. While the idea of two boys fighting over her was, in theory, kind of nice the reality could be a lot grimmer. "What classes do you have today?" she asked both Harry and Draco.  
"Charms, arithmancy, care of magical creatures, history of magic, and potions," Draco recited.  
"DADA, divination, care of magical creatures, charms, and potions," Harry said afterwards. "Have you noticed that Hermione is taking extra classes that are in the same period?" He asked Draco.  
"Yes! I have, actually. She's in my arithmancy class which is at the same time as divination!" Draco exclaimed.  
"She hasn't told you how she's doing it either?"   
"For your information, I've actually decided to quit divination," Hermione stated matter-of-factly.  
"Why?" Harry asked, though he knew perfectly well why.  
"Because it's a load of rubbish! It's all just silly guesswork. Predicting you're going to die everyday like that. Just ridiculous," she ranted. And, for good measure, she added "I think Professor Trelawney is a fraud. I don't know how she's still working here."  
Then Harry 'coughed', "Lockhart!"   
"Oh, shut up."  
"Remember when we duelled last year at his duelling club, Harry?"  
"How could I forget! We were supposed to be disarming eachother. Not making snakes appear and attack the other students," Harry taunted.  
"That was a little uncalled for, Draco," Hermione agreed.  
"Yeah, well... The past is in the past?" He asked rather sheepishly.  
"Why do you keep apologizing for stuff that you did last year? We've already forgiven you," Hermione complained.  
"It just seems a bit too good to be true," Draco replied.  
"Besides, I know Snape told you to. He hates me, so that was convenient for him," Harry concluded.  
"Very true. He hates you with a fiery passion," Draco concurred. He turned to Hermione. "Just like I love you with a fiery passion," he flirted  
"Aw... Draco, you always know just what to say," she said blushingly. Harry made gagging noises in the background, but right now the couple didn't care. It was just them in the whole Great Hall, and nothing was going to break up this moment. They poured into each other's eyes, grey into brown. Hermione squeezed Draco's hand tighter, then loosened the tension. "Love you," she whispered.  
"Love you too,"


	19. Confrontation

(I'm really really sorry about this chapter. I like Ron. He's a nice guy. But knowing him he would want to fight over Hermione.)

Ron's P.O.V.

"Hey, Malfoy!" Ron called in a busy hallway. Draco looked around, trying to find who called him. "Over here!" He waved his arm.  
He looked rather nervous as he walked over. "Is something the matter?" Draco asked.  
"Oh. Nothing. Except for first you steal my girl, and now you've stolen my best friend. Anything else you want?" Ron asked.  
"Why would I want anything of yours,Weasel?" Draco asked spitefully. "And I didn't steal them from you anyway! Maybe if you stopped being such a prat they would want to hang around you more often!"  
"I am not a prat! You're the prat!"  
"Really? If that was true then there wouldn't be a problem, would there? Hermione and I certainly wouldn't be together. Harry and I would go on being enemies..."  
"Yeah, well..." Ron didn't know what to say. Was he right? No. There's no way that he could be right. It couldn't be his fault. "Just get away from them! I don't know what you're planning to do with Hermione, but I swear if you break her heart I'll hex you so bad you'll never be able to return to Hogwarts!" At this point there was a circle of students around them. Some were nervous, but most wanted to see the oncoming fight.  
"I'm not going to fight him, so if that's what you're all waiting for, go away!" Draco shouted.  
"You're not fighting me then? Why not? Scared?" Ron tempted.  
"I'm not fighting for Hermione's sake, you idiot."  
"Furnunculus!" Draco doubled over as his face became covered with grotesque boils. What did I just do? I suppose we're duelling now.  
"You're asking for it now," a furious Draco spit. "Carpe retractum," he whispered. A rope burst out of his wand, and pulled Ron closer to him. "Don't mess with me again. You hear?"  
"Mr. Malfoy! What-" McGonagall came bursting through the crowd. "I never...."  
"It wasn't his fault, Professor!"   
"Yeah, really! Weasley started it!"  
"Both of you. Come with me. Now," McGonagall commanded. She turned around brusquely in the direction of her office, followed by the pair of troublemakers.  
"Sit," They did so. "Now what in the name of Merlin happened out there?"  
"Ron attacked me professor!"   
"I find that highly unlikely, Malfoy. You don't exactly have a clean track record."  
"And he does?" Draco said, pointing at Ron.  
"Not exactly. Why don't you take turns telling both sides of the story, then?"  
"Ron approached me in the corridor and started getting upset that I 'stole his girl'. Then he did this to my face! Which still needs to be seen by Madam Pomfrey!" Draco argued.  
"Alright, and Ron?"  
"He's right. It's true. It's my fault. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that."  
McGonagall looked baffled for a second. "Well I think we both know what this means, Mr. Weasley. Twenty-five points from Gryffindor and detention every week on Fridays with me,"  
"Yes, Professor,"   
They both left her office. "Thanks," Draco said to Ron.  
"No problem. It's true. And what you said before. You deserve her more than I do anyway," Ron couldn't believe what he was saying. And yet, it made sense.  
Draco looked taken aback. "Well, maybe one of these days I'll screw up big time and you can have her for a bit."  
"Yeah, we can take turns or something," Ron laughed.  
"As long as I get her the majority of the time," Draco smiled.


	20. Playing Hooky

Draco's P.O.V.

"Dear Draco,  
We got a letter from Pansy. She wanted to inform us that you were in a...romantic relationship with the Mudblood Granger. Surely this is not the case?   
Please respond soon,   
-Father,"

"Shit."  
"What's a matter, Draco?" Hermione asked.  
"My parents. They know." She didn't get it. Draco could tell by her expression.  
"About what?"  
"About...About us." Now she got it.  
"Well, that's not too bad, is it? It's not like they can do anything from here, right?" Even as she said it, Hermione didn't look so sure herself.  
"You'd be surprised how much damage my father can do when he's upset." He glanced across the hallway and saw Pansy, looking quite smug. "Excuse me for a minute?" Hermione nodded.  
Draco swaggered over to Pansy. "You little snitch."  
"What?" Pansy asked. She had never been a good actress.  
"You know what! You told my parents about me and Hermione!"  
"I didn't want you to disappoint your parents, now did I?" She stuck her lip out innocently.  
"You have no idea how much trouble you've caused! Now I have to write to my parents and try to convince them that you were lying! Or..."  
"Or what? You won't be able to see your filthy girlyfriend again?" Pansy taunted.  
"You do it. Tell my parents that you misunderstood the situation."  
"Why should I?" Her arms were crossed angrily. Draco could tell if he didn't hurry this up, she would be leaving.  
"I'll tell Blaise to break up with you."   
"Right, and he'll listen to you."  
"Friends before girlfriends. All guys know that." Pansy fumed.  
"Fine! I'll send them a stupid letter!" She turned to leave, but then thought better of it. She slapped Draco across the face. Hard. "Don't expect me to be happy about it." Then she stormed off.  
Draco walked back to Hermione, rubbing the sore spot on his face. "That didn't go too well, did it?" Hermione inquired.  
"Couldn't have gone better, actually." Draco informed her. "She'll be sending a letter to my parents saying there was a mistake, I'll do the same. Our relationship is back on track."  
"I wasn't aware it ever went off the track," Hermione pointed out.  
"Very good point, my love." Draco took her hand and started heading down to the arithmancy classroom with her.   
"Actually, Draco..."  
"Yes?"  
"How would you like to skip class. Just, you know, for a bit."  
"...Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?"  
"We would be able to get back! Trust me. If you'd like to, of course." She started playing nervously with a gold chain around her neck.  
"Well, alright. I don't see how this is going to work though."  
"You'll see. Just let me work my magic." Draco looked at her expectantly. "Oh, later. We won't need it for say, another hour."  
Draco was confused. "Is this the same magic that's been getting you to all of your classes?"  
"Yes, in fact. But you can't tell anyone! McGonagall made me swear not use it for anything except for getting to classes. Which, technically, I'm still doing." Hermione smiled slyly.  
"Alright then. So... What are we going to do for an hour?" Draco asked.  
"Ever wanted to see the Gryffindor common room?"  
They entered the common room, which was just as empty as the hallway they had left from. "This is nice. Much cozier than the Slytherin common room."  
"So I've heard. Come sit with me!" Hermione motioned to Draco to sit in front of the warm fire. He did so. Hermione leaned her head and rested it on his shoulder. Draco played a bit with her hair, and then let his hand drop to his lap.  
"Draco-" Hermione turned to face him, but realized how close they were to each other.   
"Yes?" Draco whispered.  
Hermione said nothing. She's probably thinking the same thing I am. And so, he went for it. He turned his head ever so slightly to the right and leaned in. This is what a kiss feels like, then.   
It was bloody brilliant.  
He opened his eyes for a slight second just to see Hermione's reaction. She was surprised, to be sure. But she went with it, closed her eyes, and dropped her arms around his back so they could get closer. Draco found he couldn't help himself from playing with her soft, bushy hair. Eventually they parted to breathe, but soon they connected again. Now that it was technically their second kiss, it felt more confident, more playful. Hermione was still had her arms wrapped around Draco's back. Draco himself was on his knees, one of his hands on her neck, the other on her side. They separated for the final time.   
"I love you Draco."  
"I love you too, Hermione."  
"We should probably get to class. This-" she said, showing him her necklace, "Is a Time-Turner. It'll turn time back for one hour. Just long enough to make it to arithmancy."  
"You don't think we could wait another hour, do you?"  
"Not unless you want a bunch of Gryffindor's wondering why you're in their common room."  
"Well..."  
"Oh, come on. We can do this again. But later." Hermione wrapped the necklace around the both of them, and time reversed itself.

 

(A/N: I've never actually, well, kissed anyone before. Sorry if that section wasn't incredibly realistic. I can't really tell. I only have other people's writing to go off of!)


	21. Twin Tricksters

Hermione's P.O.V.

For the first time in her life, Hermione was having trouble paying attention in class. Professor Vector droned on about how the astrological signs of a person can affect their futures, but all Hermione could think about was the kiss. She played it over and over in her head and found herself staring at the back of Draco's head more often then she normally would. She tried to shake herself from her romantic stupor multiple times, but it seemed impossible. After about half an hour, she gave up and let herself enjoy it.  
She hardly even noticed when the class was dismissed. "Oh, already?" She packed up her books and left the classroom. "Luckily I already read about today's lesson," Hermione thought as she realized she hadn't absorbed practically anything the professor said. She felt pretty bad about it, but she knew it wasn't going to happen again. She met up with Draco at the classroom door and grabbed his hand.  
"Someone was distracted today," Draco teased.  
"Maybe a bit," Hermione smiled. They walked down the hallway together until they had to part to different classes."See you later, Draco," she said. She stood on her tiptoes and lightly kissed his cheek.  
"Oh, come on. I know you can do better then that."  
Hermione kissed him full on the lips and said "That's all you're going to get." She laughed and then she turned away to get to her next class.

Later in the Gryffindor Common Room...

Hermione sat by Ron and Harry on the couch in the corner of the room. The three of them were working on their charms homework together.  
"Hermione, what's the incantation for the Revealing Charm?" Ron asked.  
"Aparecium," She answered.  
"Great, thanks..."  
Fred and George came over. "Hello there!" Fred greeted.  
"Hi," the trio responded.  
"Busy with your homework?" George asked.  
"Yes," Hermione replied, sort of suspiciously.  
"We were just wondering-"  
"How is your relationship with Draco going?" Harry and Ron looked up from the essays, wondering where this was going.  
Hermione looked up from her book. "Fine, I suppose..."  
"More than fine, the way we saw it," Fred smiled slyly. He casually leaned over the side of the couch and waited for her to ask what he meant.  
She didn't disappoint. "What do you mean?"  
"We may or may not have been in the common room this afternoon during fourth period," George answered.  
Her jaw dropped. But she quickly closed it. "So?"  
Fred and George looked at each other before they continued. "You know it's against the rules to bring Slytherins into the Gryffindor common room, right?"  
"You didn't-" Harry started.  
"I didn't. Fourth period I was in arithmancy," Hermione rebuked.  
"I tend to disagree," the twins simultaneously argued.  
"Well, go ahead and ask Professor Vector. I was there." She slammed her book shut and stalked to the girl's dormitory. She vaguely heard an irritated Ron complain "Great. Now she's not going to help us with our charms."  
Hermione flopped down on her bed and turned on her bedside lamp. How could I have not seen them? I could have sworn the common room was entirely empty! She pushed the thought out of her mind and returned to her work. Once she was done, she got some spare parchment out of her bedside drawer and started to write a letter.  
"Dear Draco,  
How are you? I could be better-apparently Fred and George were hidden somewhere in the Gryffindor common room while we were in there. It's not really a big deal, they're not the kind to snitch. Besides, I told them to ask Professor Vector where I was fourth period. I guess we should be a bit more careful in the future though. Not that I wouldn't want to do that in the future, of course. I could probably use that memory to cast a Patronus charm, once we get around to learning about those. See you tomorrow, my love. Missing you.  
Love,  
Hermione"  
She pet her cat Crookshanks, who thanks to Ron's pet Scabbers was now locked up in her room. "It's okay," she told him. "I'll be right back." With that, she left the common room and hurriedly ran to the owlery. She borrowed a small school owl and told it that this letter was an urgent delivery. It couldn't wait until the morning.   
Surprisingly, not an hour later when she was back in the common room, she received a reply from the same owl.  
"Dear Hermione,  
Well, I am dating the love of my life. How could I not be doing great? I agree, there's not much to worry about. There's no way for Fred and George to prove we were there. Anyway, even if they did somehow find a way, I wouldn't have done anything different. I just researched the Patronus charm. I think our happiest memory is going to be pretty similar! Although, who knows. We might have another one later on.  
Miss and Love You,  
Draco"

"Aw..."   
"What?" Lavender, Pavarti asked.  
"Oh, it's Draco. He's just so romantic!" She put the letter in her trunk for safekeeping. She never wanted to lose it.


	22. My Father Will Hear About It

Draco's P.O.V.

"So I have a problem," Draco overheard Hermione talking to Ginny.  
"What is it?" She asked.  
"Do I support the Gryffindor team or the Slytherin team? Because I'm in Gryffindor, Harry's in Gryffindor, but Draco's in Slytherin!" Ginny looked astonished.   
"You support Gryffindor of course! It's your own house!" Draco walked past them without drawing their attention. Of course, that was what he had expected Ginny to say, but that didn't make it any less disappointing. There was always going to be a separation between Hermione and himself, as long as they were in school. Stupid sorting hat.   
But he knew that Slytherin was where he belonged. It's where his whole family belonged. And Hermione belonged in Gryffindor. That's just how it works. But I'm not like my family. Or was he? Well, he was, back when he was sorted at least. He didn't feel like the same person that he was back then, or even just last summer before school started.  
Maybe if I could get the staff to let me be re-sorted somehow. I could be in Gryffindor with Hermione! No, that would be stupid. His parents would know. They always knew. Besides, he wasn't much of a Gryffindor anyway. He belonged in Slytherin, whether he liked it or not.   
He reached the Slytherin side of the Quidditch field and entered the team's tent. Montague came up to him.   
"Ready for the big game, Draco?" he asked, slapping him hard on the back.  
"You know I am," Draco smiled in return. He went into one of the individual stalls to change into his green and silver robes.   
"Psst," He looked around to try to identify the noise. I probably just imagined it. He continued changing. "Psst, Draco!"  
He knew that voice. "Hermione? Is that you?"  
"Yes! I'm on the outside of the curtain. Can I talk to you?"  
Draco looked down at his pile of clothes on the ground. They were close, but not that close."Well, um... Can you keep talking through the curtain? I'm um...still...getting changed."  
"Hm? Oh! Right, sorry. I can wait, if you like-"  
"No, it's fine. What is it?"  
"I just wanted to let you know I'll be sitting with Ginny on...the Gryffindor side of the pitch. And also, don't go easy on the Gryffindors just because you're friends with Harry now. Do your best, okay?"  
Draco smiled. Of course. "Don't worry. We're going to flatten them today," then he added "Not literally, of course." He was mostly dressed now, he just needed to put on his shirt. "You can come in now," he whispered to her.  
"What? I'm not allowed in there! It's the Slytherin tent! For Quidditch players!"   
"Oh, come on. Just for a second. No one except us will know." He heard Hermione give an exasperated sigh, but he lifted up the bottom of the tent anyway and Hermione crawled through.  
"What is it?" Hermione asked, pretending to be upset with him. "And I thought you said you were dressed?" She added, noticing his bare chest.  
Draco looked down. He blushed. "Damn. I was going to put it on, but then you got me all distracted."  
"It's okay. I don't mind," Now Hermione was the one blushing. "It's just, I mean..." She gave up trying to cover up what she said. "You look good."  
"You look better," Draco complimented. She was wearing one of her favorite sweaters and blue jeans. Nothing special, but she always looked beautiful.   
"I seriously doubt that," Hermione whispered back.  
"Maybe this will change your mind." Draco leaned down to kiss her. He couldn't help but notice the way Hermione stroked his firm, bare, muscles. Who knew. Sometimes even the nerdy girls like a jock.   
"Well, I should probably get going. You've probably been 'getting dressed' for twenty minutes now," Hermione started to leave, but Draco grabbed her hand.  
"I don't think so. You're forgetting something."  
"And what's that?"  
"A good-luck kiss."  
"But I just-"  
"That didn't count," Draco drew her in close and kissed her again.   
"Draco Malfoy, what is taking you so darn long!" Without warning, Montague ripped open the curtain. The rest of the team whistled. The couple broke apart. Most of the team looked giddy, but not Montague. He was panting, and red in the face.  
"Out," Hermione looked at him, and then to Draco. "I said out, you filthy Mudblood!"   
Draco lunged foreword and punched him in the nose. It started bleeding. "Don't mess with my girlfriend," Draco whispered. "And don't even threaten to kick me off the team. You need me, and my broomsticks."  
"Alright, why don't you head up to your seat, love?" Draco hinted. He kissed her cheek and she smiled, albeit a little nervously. She left the tent and walked away with her head high.   
"If any of you tell anyone what happened in here today, my father will hear about it."


	23. Gryffindor vs. Slytherin

"What has gotten into you lately?" Marcus asked.  
"Oh, is this about your nose? I'll fix it. Episkey. There. Everything good now?" Draco asked sarcastically.  
"No! Everything is not good! That girl is getting to your head!"  
"Yes."  
"Don't argue with- Wait, what?"  
"I said yes. She is getting to my head. But I'm okay with that. So you should be too," With that, Draco led the way onto the field. The players mounted their brooms and kicked off into the air. Draco flew high and could faintly hear Lee Jordan shouting from below.  
"Gryffindor has the Quaffle. Now it's Slytherin! Ooh, nice score Alicia! Ten points to Gryffindor!" Draco scanned the arena. He saw Harry flying around the opposite end, probably using the same fly-high tactics he was. Draco decided to pretend like he saw the Snitch. He went for a full-on dive. His hair whipped around his face as he accelerated on his superior Nimbus 2001 broomstick. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Harry diving near the same area he was. At the last second Draco came out of the dive.  
"Gotcha'," Draco teased Harry.  
"We'll just see who wins the match!" Harry shouted back at Draco as he started to fly in the opposite direction.  
Draco now decided to look around the ground. Wait, what's that? He saw three cloaked figures sweep onto the field. Those aren't dementors? Draco didn't feel like he had before; cold and depressed. He flew higher, just to be safe. Surely one of the teachers could take of them?  
From behind he heard someone shout "Expecto Patronum!" A giant silver stag swept over the field. He turned his broom around and saw Harry, looking triumphant. Draco didn't get a chance to figure out what had just happened however, because he caught sight of the Snitch. He pushed his broom forward with all of his strength, but Harry was already ahead of him.   
Oh, someone hit him with a Bludger! Harry reached out his hand and caught the Snitch, ending the game. Draco slowed and landed softly on the ground.  
Draco left without getting changed in the tent, so he headed up to the castle. He decided it would probably be a bit safer to get changed in his own dormitory, due to recent circumstances.  
"Mr. Malfoy! Would you please come with me?" McGonagall called to him.  
"Yes, Professor?"  
"Mr. Zabini, Goyle, and Crabbe claim that you gave them the brilliant idea to dress up as dementors in an attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor seeker?"  
"What? No. I was just as surprised as Harry was to see them on the field!" Draco protested.  
"That's what I thought. You four are coming with me," McGonagall ordered.  
Draco was crestfallen. No, I can't be blamed for this! The four of them followed the professor up to her office.   
"Draco, please wait outside," she told him when they arrived.  
"Yes, Professor." Five minutes later the other three left the office fuming and grumbling about the unfairness of it all. Then he heard McGonagall call him inside.  
"You've been getting into some pretty bad quarrels with your house members recently. Is there a reason for this?" she questioned.  
Draco shrugged.  
"Well, we can't have this happening every day! There must be a reason!"  
"I suppose they're not delighted that I'm...dating a Gryffindor." Draco's cheeks blushed.  
"I see. There's not much we can do about that then. Unless..."  
"Yes?"  
"It would be highly unusual. But how would you like to be placed in Gryffindor? Just temporarily, of course. Until things calmed down a bit," she suggested.  
Draco's mouth dropped. "You're kidding right?"  
"No, I'm not."  
"I'd love to, but my parents..."  
"They needn't be informed."  
Draco thought about it. Gryffindor or Slytherin? Gryffindor with Hermione or Slytherin with... Who? Pansy?  
"I'll transfer to Gryffindor," Draco declared.


	24. Moving In

Draco's P.O.V.

"Draco! What are you doing here?" Hermione shouted at him as he walked through the Fat Lady's portrait hole. All of the Gryffindors stopped their party (probably to celebrate their win against Slytherin) and stared at their surprise guest. He held all of his belongings in two green and silver duffel bags. He didn't realize that probably wasn't the best choice of color until he was practically there.  
"I'm moving in," Draco replied simply with a smirk on his face, trying his best to hide his nervousness.  
Hermione looked at him confused. Before he had a chance to explain, McGonagall also came through the entrance to the common room.  
"Oh, Draco. You're already here. Good. Mr. Malfoy will be staying with all of you for a while. Not forever of course, just temporarily. Now I don't want anyone writing home to their parents about this situation! It's been requested that no one knows. Please welcome Draco like he's been here the whole time. If I hear otherwise, there will be consequences." And with that, she left the room.  
For a few tense moments, no one said anything.  
It was Harry who broke the silence. "I guess I'll show you to your room." Draco followed him up the staircase to the third year's dormitory. There was only one bed in the room that was properly made- he assumed that was his.  
"Thanks," Draco said as he plopped down on his new bed.   
"No problem. But why are you here?" Harry asked. Draco explained to him the situation. "Wow! I bet you're probably the first one to ever switch houses."  
"I know. I just hope my parents don't find out," Draco lamented. "They would be furious."  
"Yes. They would... Well, I'll leave you to unpack your things."   
Draco reached for his bag and unzipped it. "I'll probably have to get some different robes," he realized. He put his in the chest at the end of his bed. His books and school supplies went in his bedside table. Once he finished organizing everything, he went back down to the common room. He found that a lot of conversations were stopped abruptly when he entered.  
Draco looked around awkwardly for Hermione. She sat in her usual armchair by the fire. Draco tried to ignore the the glares of all the other students as he walked over to her. She scooted over so they could sit together.  
"Maybe this was a bad idea," he whispered to her.  
"Don't worry. They'll get used to it," she whispered back.  
Draco glanced around the room again. He'd never felt more out of place. "I sure hope you're right."  
"When have I ever been wrong?"


	25. Chapter 25- Surprise Party

Hermione's P.O.V.

I've never seen the Gryffindors so quiet before. But of course, the one time they were quiet, Hermione didn't have any homework to do. She was sort of wishing she did have some though so she could be distracted from the awkward stillness of the common room. But alas, she had nothing. She could retrieve "Hogwarts: A History" from her dormitory of course, but she seemed almost glued to her chair.  
"Okay everyone. This is getting ridiculous," Fred shouted as he stood up.  
George stood up next to his twin. "Yeah. So what we have a prat living with us now?"  
"It's not like all of you are perfect either."  
"So I have an idea. Let's just get along with our daily lives?  
"Smashing idea. Simply brilliant."  
"Why thank you, dear brother."   
After that, everyone relaxed and started to meander around the room again.  
"Well I'm glad that's over with," Draco said.  
"Me too," Hermione agreed. "At least it will be easier to tutor you now. And we can work on our homework together!" she realized excitedly.  
Draco laughed. "Of course homework is the best part of this situation for you."  
Hermione laughed with him. "Well, it's not the best part maybe, but it's definitely a big plus." Draco took his hand in hers as she leaned her head on his shoulder.   
"Yeah, I think I can get used to this,"  
Fred and George popped out of nowhere in front of them. "Thanks guys," Hermione said appreciatively as she straightened up to talk to them.  
"Not a problem!" Fred said.  
"Making light of a situation is what we do best!" George said.  
"But don't think that this means you still won't be victim to our various pranks," Fred warned Draco.  
"I wouldn't dream of it," Draco smiled.  
"Good. I guess that means you'll be ready for this then!" George snapped his fingers. A poster that read "The Slytherin Prince...Or is He? Welcome to Gryffindor Malfoy!" fell down over the doorway to the dormitories and confetti burst in random sparks just as Lee Jordan entered the common room with as much food as he could carry.  
Draco's mouth fell open and Hermione shook her head laughing.  
"How did you do all of this? I was sitting here the whole time and didn't notice anything!" Draco exclaimed. He looked at Hermione, as if for confirmation he wasn't imaging anything.  
"A magician never tells his secrets," Fred teased.  
"Well, consider me impressed," Draco said in awe. He stood up and walked around the room. Hermione watched him as he stared at flying confetti.   
Hermione walked up to him. "Told you. I'm always right!" she said as she grabbed two pumpkin pasties from the table of sweets. She handed one to Draco and ate one herself. "This is going to be great!"


	26. Insufferable

Hermione's P.O.V.

Hermione went into the defense against the dark arts room and was surprised to see that Snape was standing at the front of the room. Is Lupin really not feeling well again?   
"Professor Lupin has given me a lesson plan that you were about to start studying red caps, is that correct?" Snape asked. The class murmured an agreement.  
"Well, considering how dreadfully behind you are, I think we're going to skip a few chapters. Please turn to page 394."  
Wait, what? "Professor, we're not due to be studying werewolves for weeks!" she said.  
"If you have something to say, Ms. Granger, would you please raise your hand before speaking?" Snape commanded scathingly.  
"Yes, sir." Embarrassed, she looked down at her book and read some of the symptoms of being bitten by a werewolf on the full moon.  
"Can anyone tell me how to spot a werewolf out of a group of actual wolves?" Snape asked.  
Hermione raised her hand. I thought everyone knew that! she thought as she realized no one else was willing to answer.  
"No one? No one at all? I should think that a group of third years would be able to recognize a werewolf when they see one..." Snape commented, deliberately not calling on Hermione.  
"Please sir," Hermione said, lowering her hand. "A werewolf will-"  
"I don't remember calling on you! Can you help yourself, or are you such an insufferable know-it-all that it is impossible to keep your mouth shut?"  
"You asked a question and she was answering it! Why ask a question if you don't want it answered?!" Ron shouted.  
"Twenty points from Gryffindor, Mr. Weasley. And another twenty from Ms. Granger," Snape punished.  
"Hey, that's not fair!"  
"Yeah, you can't do that!"  
"She was just answering YOUR question!"  
"Do you really ALL went detention? Because I would be glad to give it to you,"  
The Gryffindors fell silent. As soon as class was over, Hermione ran out of the room.  
"Hermione!" she heard someone call behind her. It was Harry and Ron. "You're not going to listen to that sorry-excuse-for-a-teacher, are you?" Ron asked.  
She didn't know how to respond to that. "Um...No. Not really, I guess."  
"Good," Harry said.  
"You know why he did it, though, right?" Hermione asked. The pair looked confused. "Taught us a lesson on werewolves instead of red caps?" she clarified.  
"Because he's an idiot?" Harry guessed.  
Wow, they really don't know that Lupin is a werewolf, do they? "Yeah, he probably didn't know anything about red caps!" she covered.  
"I wouldn't be surprised," Ron muttered. "Oh, hi Draco."  
"Hi Ron, Harry, Hermione," Draco greeted. He leaned over and kissed Hermione on the cheek. "Is everything alright, love? You look upset," Draco noticed.  
"Oh, it's...It's nothing," Hermione lied.  
"That doesn't sound like nothing," Draco replied.   
"Hermione's just upset because Snape called her a... What was it? 'Insufferable know-it-all'. And even though everyone in the class disagreed with him, she refuses to believe us," Harry explained, his voice simply dripping with sarcasm.  
Draco looked shocked. "Snape wouldn't do that!"  
"Oh, you forgot to mention the part where he threatened to give the entire class detention for standing up for Hermione," Ron added.  
"You really think that Snape is a decent teacher?" Harry asked Draco.  
"Well, he always has been to me," Draco shrugged. "I guess I never really paid attention to how he treated the others though. You can't stand for that! That has to be child abuse, or, or something! We should report him to Dumbledore!"  
"Yeah, like we haven't tried that before..." Ron said.  
"Guys, it's not really that big of a deal. I've gotten used to it over the years. He's always thought that. It's just for the first time today he mentioned it out loud," Hermione assured the three boys.  
"Well, it's a big deal to me. Don't believe a word that slime ball says. We all know that it's not true." Draco leaned in to whisper in Hermione's ear. "And besides, even if it was, I would love you anyway."  
"Oh Draco..." Hermione flushed.  
"Well, it's true!"   
"Wow wow wow, what's true?" Ron asked.  
"Isn't it obvious? I mean, I've never even been in a relationship before and I can tell," Harry replied. Ron still looked confused. Harry whispered into his ear to explain. Ron made an 'o' shape with mouth.  
"As long as you're keeping it PG, I don't mind. But if I hear tell of anything beyond that..." Ron started.   
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed.  
"I would never hurt her," Draco promised. "Anyway, I've got to get to arithmancy." Draco started towards class.  
"Oh, me too. See you boys later," Hermione said to the other two.   
"Instead of going to arithmancy, I've got a better idea."  
"What's that?" Hermione asked.  
"Do your little necklace magic and you can find out," Draco winked.


End file.
